New Living Translation(NLT)
A clear, conversational translation designed to read as naturally as everyday storytelling.
At a Glance
- Reading Level
- 6
- NT Textual Basis
- Critical Text
- Quote Limit
- 500 verses
- Red Letter Edition
- Red letter edition available: Yes
- Marks OT Quotations in NT
- Marks OT quotations in NT: No
- Italicizes Translator Words
- Italicizes translator-supplied words: No
- Capitalizes Deity Pronouns
- Capitalizes deity pronouns: No
- Quotation Marks for Dialogue
- Uses quotation marks for dialogue: Yes
Overview
The New Living Translation is published by Tyndale House and grew out of The Living Bible, the personal paraphrase Kenneth Taylor originally wrote at his kitchen table in the 1960s so his ten children could follow along during family Bible reading. Tyndale published that paraphrase in 1971, and by the late 1980s assembled a team of about 90 evangelical scholars to turn it into a genuine translation from the original Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek — released as the New Living Translation in 1996 and revised in 2004, 2007, and 2015.
The NLT uses a dynamic, thought-for-thought approach: its translators worked directly from the original languages, aiming to express each passage's meaning in clear, natural, contemporary English rather than reproducing the original's exact sentence structure.
On gender language, the NLT takes a moderate approach, similar to several other modern translations: where the original Hebrew or Greek is clearly addressing both men and women, it translates that inclusively — “brothers and sisters” rather than just “brothers,” for instance — while keeping masculine wording wherever a passage addresses men specifically or refers to God.
At a 6th-grade reading level, the NLT is the most readable translation on this site without being a paraphrase like its predecessor, which has made it a popular choice for personal reading, family devotions, and outreach to readers less familiar with church language.
Distinctives
- Began as a revision of Kenneth Taylor's The Living Bible (1971) — Tyndale's team of roughly 90 scholars turned that personal paraphrase into a full translation from the original languages rather than simply updating its English.
- At a 6th-grade reading level, it's the most readable translation on this site, while still translating directly from the original languages rather than paraphrasing an existing English text.
- Uses natural, story-like prose that reads more like contemporary narrative writing, which is part of why it's popular for read-through-the-Bible plans.
- Backed by the large NLT Study Bible and other Tyndale devotional resources built specifically around this text.
Good Fit For
- New believers, children, and family devotions, where a comfortable 6th-grade reading level keeps Scripture approachable without becoming a paraphrase.
- Personal daily reading and read-through-the-Bible plans, since its natural, story-like prose is easy to read in longer stretches.
- Outreach and evangelism settings, where the NLT's clarity is often a deliberate first choice for readers less familiar with church language.
Sample Verse — John 3:16
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.